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Bodybuilding, working out and sculpting your body and muscles for the next competition is not there is all to life. To maintain a healthy balance between the sometimes obsessive quest to sculpt our bodies into masterpieces of muscular definition, we need to take a break and just enjoy some healthy activities in life. We recommend participating in healthy outdoor activities, adventurous but stimulating, activities that continue to build muscle, stamina but also allow for a welcome break from the rigorous gym training that we all grow so accustomed to. Going on safari in Cape Town or experiencing some of the fantastic adventure tourism options available is a good place to start. This adventure is not for the faint of heart as you will be jumping off high places, hiking and climbing, all for fun. In South Africa many call it Kloofing, but it is also known as Canyoning in the rest of the world. The whole adventure involves hiking along a river following its course in a canyon or gorge/Kloof. You will be jumping off cliffs, swimming in beautiful pools and in some cases you might also be abseiling down the side of a waterfall. You will have to be a bit fit and daring to try this sport adventure out.

To experience this adventure, it is best to look for companies that offer tours. As bodybuilders we are often skeptical about trying out new things that take us out of our comfort zone. Professional guides will be able to show you the best places as well as making sure everybody will get through safely. Kloofing involves jumping into pools of water; the height at which you jump can vary greatly. You can start off with a short easy jump of about 3m or if you are really serious and want to test your nerve, you can try heights up to 24 metres. Nobody is going to push you off the cliff and all jumps are not compulsory, so don’t worry if you feel a bit overwhelmed at the jump points.

Most tours also include breakfast, lunch and dinner in their package so you don’t have to worry about a thing, only enjoy and have fun. Most Kloofing experiences last for a few hours or the entire day. Some may also take you out for a little longer, where you can spend the night under the stars in a ravine or gorge. Ashanti Travel is a Cape Town based travel company that specializes in adventure tourism and has catered for several of our bodybuilding community in placing them in perfectly suited tours.

Specialised equipment will be used for this such as, climbing ropes, rock climbing anchors and belay devices. There have been many cases where “kloofers” needed to be rescued. So as mentioned you do need a professional and experienced guide, somebody who knows how to abseil. Upon arrival before heading out, there is a safety briefing so everybody is aware of what to expect and how to do things correctly. Other equipment needed for kloofing should include:

Swimsuit

Towel

Backpack, hat, suntan lotion and sunglasses

A comfortable pair of hiking shoes

Extra set of dry clothes

When approaching the edge of the cliff, ready to jump in. The way to position yourself when jumping is to, ‘pin drop’ into the water. This means holding your body straight with your hands held at your sides. Remember to close your mouth, so you don’t get a mouthful of water and this also helps you not to bite on your tongue when you hit the water. Your feet can be pointed if you want, but this is not necessary for a successful jump into the water.

The kloofing tours usually end off with abseiling down a waterfall. The vertical drop can be anything from about 45 metres to 65 meters down the waterfall. This is where the experienced and professional guide comes in handy as this should not be done by inexperienced climbers, as it could be very dangerous. Abseiling involves the use of special ropes and equipment to get you down a cliff face safely.

There are a number of activities that are involved in Kloofing, such as abseiling and rock climbing providing you with new skills to take home with you. The beautiful surroundings can also be full of learning opportunities because of the abundance of fauna and flora.

Adventure and thrill seekers will love these adventure tours. Most people will enjoy this activity as it takes you away from the noise and rush of everyday life, giving you time to enjoy the moment. Let’s not forget it also provides an adrenaline pumping experience that will get you hooked the first time you try it.

Everything about life seems to be extreme these days. Extreme Makeovers, Extreme Biking, Extreme Sports – hell, life has become extreme …full stop.

Picking up an extreme sport is expensive and the decision is made difficult by the wide variety of sports on offer. This is especially true when you live in a warm coastal city such as Cape Town. When deciding on an extreme sport, one has to take into consideration the effect of weather conditions, the price of equipment, the amount of adrenaline it produces and the safety of the sport. At Arnaud Plaisant we believe in people looking after their bodies, and this applies even more greatly to those who participate in extreme sports, the need to supply the body with additional supplements only increases with the intensity of the associated sporting activity.

For newcomers to the extreme sports scene, dune surfing and paragliding are the two best extreme sports to take up. Dune surfing involves surfing sand dunes using a modified snowboard, aptly named a sandboard. Dune surfing is one of the cheapest extreme sports and it is, therefore, easy to stop when you feel you need a bigger adrenaline rush.

Paragliding Cape Town is another easy to pick up extreme sport and is accessible to everyone, young, old, fit or frail. Starting out, one can ascend to the heights of Signal Hill and Lions Head and glide down to the Atlantic Seaboard in tandem with a trained professional. The sport, despite the heights involved, is extremely safe and provides a good adrenaline rush for beginner extreme sports enthusiasts. The beauty of paragliding is in the longevity of the sport. Once one feels the adrenaline rush is not enough, one can go for a pilot’s license and start solo paragliding. Once solo flight begins to bore you, you can take paragliding up a notch. Extreme paragliding, the most dangerous version of the extreme sport, is for the biggest of adrenaline junkies. Tandem Paragliding Cape Town is one of the most versatile sports and provides the best scenery of all extreme sports. You would do very well to team up with the Skywings Paragliding team that offer lessons and tandem paragliding packages for those who don’t have any experience but want to experience the adrenaline rush.

If you’re feeling fearless and ready to jump head-first, literally, in to the world of extreme sports, there are options for you too.
Skydiving is one of the ultimate adrenaline-pumping activities and is not for the faint of heart. This sport is not recommended for beginners. Jumping from a plane at great altitudes can have the strongest of people shivering in fear. Conversely, it also provides you with one of the biggest adrenaline rushes you can acquire.
Bungee jumping. The sport of jumping off high bridges while attached to a cord. Nothing gets the heart pumping more than falling down to your imminent death only to be yanked back to safety by a rope. Definitely one of the best extreme sports but not for the faint of heart or anyone who fears heights.

If you’re sick of the hard land beneath your feet, try out an aquatic extreme sport. Shark cage diving is one of the best aquatic extreme sports, in terms of number of heart palpitations per minute. Getting close to one of the world’s deadliest predators, the Great White Shark, is both awe inspiring and thrilling. Shark cage diving is a must for those among us who are both lovers of nature and adrenaline rush seekers.
For those who seek a more fitness orientated water sport, whitewater rafting is for you. Whitewater rafting is the sport of paddling a raft down a body of water, usually a river (like the Orange River). The river usually consists of gentle water and more demanding and dangerous whitewater, which provides the adrenaline rush you seek from an extreme sport. Whitewater rafting can be quite tenuous and isn’t recommended for people with a lack of fitness, upper body strength or water wings.

There is an extreme sport for everyone based on your preferences, budget, age and fitness levels. Extreme sports are good for both your mental and physical health so why not pick up one?

Following on with our previous article, and talking about the extremes that bodybuilders, sportsmen and women will go to, to achieve peak performance and their goals. Unfortunately they sometimes lose sight of their dreams and under pressure to perform and achieve, will turn to steroids and other banned sports performance drugs which may boost or aid their performance. Things don’t always end well for some of these dedicated athletes and bodybuilders. Their muscles and bodies suffer from the prolonged use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances, and they end up both physically and psychologically addicted to these drugs. Some may be caught using the substances by the athletic governing bodies or muscle building associations and banned from competing. Those that have become addicted will need treatment for the addiction in some form of rehabilitation center.

Scotswood Retreat in Cape Town, South Africa, is a luxury, world class facility that caters for these sportsmen and others suffering from some form of addiction. After a patient completes a stay in a rehabilitation facility, they need to start up with their lives again, living a different way, a way free of the temptation to go back to those things which tempted them in the first place. This is easier said than done. They may have learned much about themselves whilst in treatment, and given many tools to keep them on the right track, but going back to your old life and trying to live differently is really, really hard. People, Places and Things. These three are the biggest stumbling blocks for recovering addicts once they leave treatment. People you associate with using your drug of choice, hanging out with them, is a huge trigger. Places you may have used your drug of choice, going to these places is dangerous for a recovering addict. Things you associate with taking your drug of choice, maybe it’s a certain cool drink bottle that your drug was in, maybe its sitting in your car where you used to hide and take that drug.

Scotswood Retreat offers a holistic, nurturing environment for patients leaving rehabilitation centers, that are looking for somewhere that they can have freedom of movement, be responsible for themselves, but within a safe environment that is completely free of any of those old triggers that they may have, which could potentially cause them to relapse. Provided that applicants meet the criteria required by the Scotswood team, they are welcome to stay there between thirty days and twenty four weeks. Scotswood is a fairly new, but highly recommended sober house in Cape Town. Owner, Julia Finnis-Bedford, has an empathy and passion for helping patients make this transition, that only somebody whose own life has been affected by addiction, can have. Julia and her team, Suzanne Van Der Wath (Recovery Assistant), Louisa Baronetti (House Manager) and Ruby Weber (Relapse Prevention Counsellor) are all very experienced with addictive behaviors and the recovery process. The team is more than qualified to assist people in making the smoothest possible transition to living a normal, healthy, sober life. Besides being located in a beautiful suburb, close to mountains and forests, Scotswood is within four kilometers of shopping centers, coffee shops and restaurants.

Far too many bodybuilders and athletes end up making the mistake of becoming obsessed with reaching their fitness goals and end up placing them before their own health. Steroid abuse among athletes and bodybuilders is a huge problem and can have severe health consequences.The abuse of anabolic steroids often causes severe acne and in some cases can even result in men developing breasts. In more extreme cases, the extended abuse of the drugs can even result in heart attacks and liver cancer. Rehab-Search.directory is a service which helps people suffering from all forms of addiction, including anabolic steroid abuse, find the best suited treatment center for them.

This online based search directory has taken the best of the best in addiction treatment centers and categorized them, sorted them and listed them in a way that is easy and simple to understand. The website has listings that specialize in drug addiction, eating disorders, ADHD, OCD and many other psychiatric disorders. The team at Rehab-Search has first hand experience with addiction and the damage it can cause and knows all too well how important it is to find the correct treatment center that is best suited to the patient. All too often a person that needs special attention for a dual diagnosis, such as drug addiction and is also bipolar, is referred to a facility that is not the best match for their condition. The website has a comprehensive list of :

Multi-professional Psychological Groups

Addiction Centres

Psychiatric Clinics

Outpatient Rehab Programs

Eating Disorder Centres

Half way Houses and Sober Living

Family Clinics

Integrative Health Centres

Rehab-Search.directory is by far the best place to start if you are looking for drug rehabilitation centres in Cape Town, South Africa.